the great circus parade

after church we piled in the cars and went to downtown milwaukee to stake out a spot to watch the great circus parade. madelyn had learned about the circus this past week in pre-school so she was super excited to see a circus and a parade in one. we were very early for the parade and it was going to be a two hour parade. i think that we were there a little over 5 hours in all and madelyn missed her nap so that we could be there. none of us had ever been to a circus parade and i think that i was as excited as madelyn was to see it (well maybe she was a little more excited).

this post is going to be mainly pictures and comments in an effort to make posting it as quick as possible - i am worn out.

daddy and big pop took madelyn to go and look for lunch while grandma, mason, and i stayed to watch our chairs and spot on the sidewalk. they found a hot dog place that was open and we were all just happy for something to eat. madelyn wasn't crazy about her corndog though.

madelyn got a bubble gun from big pop and grandma to help pass the time we had to wait for the parade to start. madelyn loved it. i am not so sure about everyone sitting around us having bubbles pop on them...

and mason was sleeping.

once the parade got going (it started a block over from where we were) madelyn kept saying "i heard something. listen." she could cup her hand over her cheek/mouth instead of her ear to 'listen'. it was pretty cute. i wanted to get video, but it was just too loud and you can't hear her in it.

once they closed off the street to traffic all sorts of people, not just kids, went out into the street and started drawing circles with sidewalk chalk. after grandma talked to some people sitting next to us we learned that it is a circus parade tradition. you are trying to draw a circle where you think that a horse will drop some poo. whatever makes it interesting for you.

there were all kinds of animal wagons. i really liked this one with the giraffe because of the little sun shade.

there were some amazing wagons in the parade. some of them are a century old and have been refurbished just for the parade. there were organ wagons too.

and mason kept sleeping.

and towards the end were the elephants walking in groups of three with their tails held by the elephant behind it. i thought that it was neat to be that close to them. i think madelyn liked them too.

we were all exhausted by the time the parade ended and madelyn fell asleep shortly after getting into the car. she even stayed asleep while i held her in the restaurant we stopped at on the way home for an early dinner. i think that we will all sleep well tonight! love.